"I wonder if this thing can be removed?" Cora hadn't been able to find a seam where the device joined the floor. "The power source appears to be underground, but if they could be separated safely and relocated …"

"It could be brought to Earth and used to end wars?" Kim shrugged and continued inspecting the walls for seams that would indicate a doorway leading to another chamber.

"Wars, smaller conflicts, even long-lasting disagreements and grudges. As long as everyone involved is told exactly what'll happen and is given a choice, it could do a tremendous amount of good back home."

"Maybe. Something like this has the potential for abuse, though." When Cora glanced at her with a raised brow, she continued, "If someone who just wants his or her own personal harem gets hold of it, well, you can see how far off the rails this could go."

"That's a good point. It would have to be placed in the hands of people with the highest ethical standards."

"Exactly. It'd be worth a try, though. I'd prefer something like this be used as a deterrent than the ol' Mutually Assured Destruction thing from a century ago."

"Me, too." Cora got back to her feet. "Well, the metal seems to blend into the floor. It's possible the device was inserted from beneath."

"We should do a more thorough pass over the whole planet's surface to see if there's another way in. If there are other tunnels and chambers scattered around, we could find all kinds of cool stuff."

"I'd love that." Cora took one more look around the room and prepared to rejoin the rest of the all-AI team on the surface.

"Speaking of 'love,' wanna try this thing out?" Kim aimed an impish smile at her. "See if it affects robots and prosthetic bodies?"

"Well, it affected the others' brain chemistry, so it's probably not set up for machine life. If the gases work their way through your air intakes and into your brain, though, it could affect you."

"Worried that we might fall in love?"

"Heh. I like our 'friends with benefits' relationship as it is. If we take it any farther, it might ruin what we have with a dozen people around the solar system."

"Fair enough."

One of the other AI sent a message to Cora's and Kim's internal comlinks. "Cora, Zed here."

"What's up?"

"We found something interesting while we were taking a look around the perimeter of the structures."

"Yes!" Kim thrust a fist into the air.

Cora turned back to the tunnel, where Timmy waited, recording everything with his cameras. "We're on our way."